Set my soul alight
by YuniiPEP
Summary: Placed in the world of Pokémon, a 17 years old girl named Lily, is trying to find her way through life. She's looking for adventure, excitement, something that sets her soul alight.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Lily was walking home from work. It had been a very long day. She had started early, 'cause a big shipment had come in that day. She worked at the library, and every book that came in had to be checked for faults, catalogued, stickered and put on the right shelf. By hand. That's a lot of work. It wasn't the most boring job in the world, but it wasn't the most exciting one, either. When she wasn't stickering, though, Lily loved to work with books. She loved the smell, the feel, the promise of hours of amusement. And it was very safe, none of the dangers it told of were actually there. No real adventures either, but luckily there were enough written down to satisfy her hunger for excitement. And if it got too exciting (though that is a rare case), she could just close the book, put it down, and do something else. It was close to perfect. And Lily was content with her life. Or at least she had been, until now. Content, but not satisfied.

Lily reached her home, entered, and called out a greeting to her parents.  
'We're in here!' came the response from the kitchen. Lily walked in, took an apple and kissed her parents on the cheek.  
'How was work today?' her father, Leon, asked.  
'Same old, same old. You?'  
'Same old, same old.' They smiled at each other.  
'Well, my day was a bit more exciting, I should tell you.' Lily's mother, Andrea, went on: 'I ran into Mrs. Jenkins today. She had dressed up her Eevee again, it looked absolutely ridiculous! And her face, all snobby and arrogant when she was talking to me. Anyway, she told me that...' Lily's mind wandered off.  
No, she wasn't satisfied. 'Cause the more she read about other peoples' fantastic adventures, the more she wished she could write down her own. Lily sighed.  
'Something the matter, dear?' her mother interrupted herself.  
'No, no, a bit tired, that's all. Long day.' Lily smiled at her mother, trying to make it look like a reassuring one. Apparently it worked, 'cause her mother said:  
'Well, you do work an awful lot, lately. Go take a rest, dinner's in an hour.' She smile sweetly. Then she raised her voice. 'Or it will be, if your father can get his head out of the paper and give me a hand!' Leon looked up, a confused look on his face.  
'Sorry, dear, did you say something?'  
Lily grinned, and as she walked past her father gave her a little wink. He had heard her mother perfectly well.

You see, the problem was, reading about it, and dreaming about it, wasn't enough. It wasn't nearly enough. She wanted to sleep under the stars, looking up at the sky, trying not to be terrified of the bugs, or that she might wake up with a snake in her sleeping bag. She wanted to breathe in clean air, travel the seas, be lost inside forests. Lily sighed, again. She wanted it, but is was impossible. 'Cause you see, the man downstairs wasn't her father. Well, he had raised her for most of her live, and they loved each other like father and daughter, so technically he was her father. Or in her eyes at least. But he wasn't her biological father. Her biological father, whose name had been Anthony, had left when Lily had been two years old. Her older sister, Louise, had been four. He had left to fulfil his dream of becoming a Pokémon trainer, because he didn't have the opportunity when he was younger. Her mother had convinced him to go herself, 'cause she had known he wouldn't be fully at peace with himself until he at least tried. So he had left, with the promise of many calls and visits, and that they'd be the first to hear all his stories. And he had kept that promise. He called almost every day, and visited regularly, if his income would allow it.  
And then one day, nothing. When he hadn't called for four days, Lily remembered her mother telling her that he was fine, that he'd probably gotten lost, or something. But when two whole weeks had passed without a word, she was officially worried sick. When another week had passed, Andrea contacted the police. They made a note of it, but told Andrea that he was probably lost, or in an uninhabited area. Pokémon journeys were like that. They even told her to consider the possibility that he'd left her. Andrea had cried after that conversation. She had tried to hide it from her daughters, but they'd noticed. Even though Andrea was sure of their mutual love, a little seed of insecurity was planted. More time went by. Andrea kept in contact with the police, but their story remained the same. When after two more months, Anthony had still not contacted his family, Andrea couldn't take it any longer. She asked her mother to babysit the girls, and went out to try and find him. A month later she returned, without Anthony, or any clue where he was. Eight more months passed, and one day a police officer came on a house call. They had found him. He was dead, in another region. There were no remains. That was it. Dead, no remains.  
Lily's mother had cried for about a week. She had mourned her husband as deeply as she had loved him.  
Andrea met Leon when Lily had just turned four. It took her a while to be able to love him, but by the time Lily was turning six, they were happily married and living together. Lily and Louise had started calling Leon 'Dad', and by now it was as natural as trees growing in earth. They had been lucky with him. He was a good man, a good husband and a good father, even though the children weren't his.  
Because Lily had been so young when this all happened, she had never missed a father figure. But it still hurt, somewhere deep down. And it made it impossible for her to leave. She couldn't put her mother through that, not again. It would kill her. No, it was best to stick with the dreaming. That was safest, for all. And she was leading a good life. She was content, and happy. But just not satisfied.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

That weekend Louise came by. Louise didn't live at home anymore. She was nineteen, and studied to become a nurse at a local university, and she lived at campus. Lily and Louise got along much better after she'd left the house. When she still lived at home, there could sometimes be tension between them, but being separated made them realize how much they actually love each other. Andrea and Leon weren't home, but Lily was.  
'Hello Lily! How are you? Still with your head in the clouds?' Louise asked, grinning. Lily smiled.  
'No, actually. The book I'm reading now is not about clouds. In fact, it doesn't even have a sky, as the story takes place underground.' Louise rolled her eyes.  
'I will never understand how you can read so many books. When I buy one, I'm good for a whole month at least. You read one every hour.' Lily smiled sweetly.  
'There are a lot of things about you I don't understand either. That haircut for example.' Lily had to move real fast to avoid her sister's hands. 'Kidding!' Lily grinned, and Louise looked at her warily.  
'My hair's just fine, and you know it!' Lily laughed.  
'It looks great, I was just teasing.' Louise stuck out her tongue. Then her eyes got an extra sparkle, and a sly smile spread across her face.  
'Yeah, I heard you're really good at that, _teasing_. Why don't you just put that boy out of his misery and go out with him, already?' Lily sighed. She was talking about Jacob, a boy she knew from high school. He went out to the library several times a week, even though Lily distinctively remembered him shouting at a teacher that he hated books, and that they were only good for making fires and wiping arses. Everyone was sure he came there to see her, but Lily hoped they were wrong.  
'I don't want to go out with him. I mean, it's not like he's not a nice guy, -'  
'And don't forgot the abs on him or made of steel!'  
'- but I just don't like him in that way. We have too little in common.' Louise snorted.  
'You don't have to have things in common to make it work. Or have a good time,' she added, while moving her eyebrows is a meaningful way. Lily rolled her eyes.  
'College life has been good to you, hasn't it?' Louise grinned.  
'I'm not sharing anything more with you than this: very good.' They both took a cup of tea, and sat down at the kitchen table.  
'Talking about the good life, how's your job, besides the stalkerdude?' Louise asked Lily.  
'Good, good. Perfectly fine,' Lily answered, but the feeling of uneasiness she had had for a while now had only grown. And apparently Louise noticed something was bothering her, cause she frowned and said:  
'What's that? You're not in love with the dusty books, anymore?'  
'Oh, I am! It's just...' Could she share this with her sister? Going on 'adventures' had always been a sensitive subject in this family.  
'Go on. It's just what?'  
'It's just... getting a little boring.' Louise raised her eyebrows.  
'Boring. Books. You. Nah, that's impossible.' Lily looked at her tea, very uncomfortable.  
'That's not what I meant. Books are still fantastic and beautiful and everything good. Or the good ones are, at least.'  
'Then what is it?'  
'Well...'  
'Oh, go on, just say it. What's boring, Lily?'  
'My life. I mean, it's great, and I am living in a good house, I have a good job and a great family.'  
'And don't you forget I'm a fantastic sister! But I don't get it. You like your life, but it's boring?'  
'Exactly.' Louise only looked more confused.  
'I don't have a clue what you're talking about. That's the most confusing thing I've heard all week, and you can hear some weird things on a campus!'  
'I like my life, but it's just... missing something.'  
'What?'  
'Excitement.' Louise stared. 'There aren't any exciting things in my life. And I miss that.'  
'Then what do you want to do about that?'  
Lily said nothing, and just stared at her tea. She could hear the wheels in Louise's head turning, and come to a stop as it hit her.  
'No. You can _not_ be saying what I think your saying!' Lily remained quiet, not daring to look at her sister. 'No! How can you even think of doing that to us?! To mom!'  
'I can't help that I want it, Louise! I didn't say I was gonna do it!'  
'But you still want it! After all we've been through, after what happened to...' Louise stopped, tears in her eyes. She had been older than Lily when it happened, and remembered a lot more. Lily felt powerless. It had hurt Louise more than she'd thought. But nobody ever spoke about it, so how could she have known?  
'I know what happened to Anthony –'  
'Dad.'  
'To Dad. Or actually, I don't, 'cause no one knows what happened. And I have tried everything to quench my thirst for adventure. Why do you think I read so much? But lately, I have been feeling it's not enough. Not anymore.'  
'Well, make it enough!'  
'I can't just flick my finger and make that feeling go away, Louise! If I could, I would have done that years ago, you know that!' Louise was quiet. She stood up and went to stare out of the window. Lily sat frozen on her chair.  
What was she gonna do about this? She couldn't explain what she felt to Louise. She wouldn't understand. Louise suddenly turned around.  
'How about going to college? You could be my roommate, and you could study literature or something? That also some kind of... adventure.' Lily smiled weakly.  
'That's a good idea, but it's not the same. I think you know that.' Then a thought hit her. 'Is that why _you_ went to college? As your own safe adventure?' Louise looked away.  
'Sort of. I never really felt the urge to actually, you know, go out there, but I wasn't satisfied with my life. College was the best decision of my life.' She looked Lily in the eyes and grabbed her hands. 'And it can be for you. Just promise me you'll think about it. Don't leave. Please.' Lily felt tears stabbing behind her eyes. But she wouldn't cry.  
'I promise. I'm not going anywhere.' Louise sighed relieved, and hugged her sister.  
'Thank you.' It was quiet for a couple of minutes, both sisters deep in thought. Then Louise broke the silence:  
'You can never tell mom this. It would kill her if she knew.'  
'If I knew what?'

Uh-oh. Lily and Louise stared at their mother, who was standing in the doorway.  
'If I knew what?' she repeated, crossing her arms in front of her chest. Oh, dear. They had to tell a really good lie if they wanted to get away with this.  
'If... you... knew that... I broke the glasses you gave me for Christmas,' Louise said. Andrea frowned.  
'They're broken?'  
'Yes. Sat on them. Sorry.' Their mother raised an eyebrow.  
'Hmm. Now, tell me the truth.'  
'She just told you.' Lily said quickly.  
'It would kill me if I knew and you tell me so quickly? I didn't think so. Come on, spill it.' Louise and Lily looked at each other uneasily. Louise was right, they couldn't tell her. But mom was always gonna know if it was a lie.  
The front door opened.  
'Hello, sweethearts! Is that Louise's car out front?' Leon's voice boomed through the house. Lily and Louise didn't try to look too relieved. Hopefully this would distract their mother long enough that she'd let it rest for a while. Then they would have the time to think of a really good lie to tell the next time Andrea asked them for it.  
'Hello, darling.' Andrea turned around, and Leon kissed her. He then looked up and said:  
'Hello, Louise! Good to see you. And you too of course, Lily. How's campus?' Louise immediately took this opportunity and starting telling about how she and her roommate had painting their dorm room, and about her classes. But Andrea interrupted.  
'Sorry, love, but there's something that needs to be handled first.' She smiled at Leon, and then looked at her daughters again. Leon raised his eyebrows, but kept quiet.  
Lily and Louise froze. It was impossible. They had to tell her. If they kept lying, she would know, and she would only get more hurt. The sisters looked at each other, and Lily tried to tell Louise what she was thinking with her eyes. Louise stared back, and then nodded, like she had understood and agreed.  
'We were talking about our feelings,' Lily said, sighing. 'And then I said something that hurt Louise, and might hurt you.' Their parents frowned.  
'How can you hurt someone else with your feelings?' Andrea asked. Lily walked to the coffee machine.  
'Coffee?' she asked the rest, and all three of them said yes. Then Louise answered her mother's question. 'Because that someone could be afraid of what the consequences might be.' Lily made the coffee and turned around. Everyone sat down at the kitchen table.  
'Then they must be quite impressive feelings,' Leon said. Lily shrugged.  
'Depends on how you look at it.' Her mother was looking at her with an examining look.  
'Are you gonna tell me what you said?' Lily stared at her coffee.  
'Oh, I might as well,' she muttered. 'I expressed my feelings of boredom and desire for excitement.' Louise snorted.  
'Yes, that was what you said, yes. But what you meant goes a bit further, don't you think?'  
'Louise, let her speak for herself. You can't be sure of someone else's feelings until they express them to you.'  
'Yeah, like that's gonna change what she meant,' Louise grumbled. Mom ignored her and looked at Lily.  
'Go on. What did you mean?' Lily felt the tears again, stabbing away.  
'I meant... I meant that, lately... I've been feeling the urge to... go on a journey. Alone. Travelling.' Nobody said a word. Then her mother broke the silence.  
'Is that it? Is that what's gonna kill me?' Lily stared at her mother, who was looking rather... amused.  
'But... But mom!' Louise stuttered. 'That would mean leaving us. Going into the wild, catching Pokémon, just like...'  
'Just like your father. Yes.' Andrea looked at Lily again. 'It took you a long time. When are you leaving?' Lily could only stare.  
'Wha-... What are you saying?' Lily was so confused she felt like crying even more. But crying wouldn't do her any good. But her mother wouldn't be her mother if she hadn't seen her despair.  
'Oh, hunny,' she said, and grabbed her hands over the table. 'I saw this coming from miles away. Even before you yourself even suspected it.'  
'I don't understand. How could you have seen something I feel? I mean, you just said it yourself, you can't know what someone else is feeling.'  
'Oh, I wasn't sure, of course. But I was very confident I was right.' Lily shook her head. This was fantastically weird. Andrea smiled. 'You see, sweetheart, you remind me so much of myself when I was your age. Same red hair, cheekbones, skin, and gorgeous figure, if I may say so myself. Yes, you are the spitting image of me.' Mom smiled, a bit teasing, but loving. 'But inside, you are exactly like your father. You remind of him every day, and I thank the gods for that, 'cause he was and you are a magnificent person. ' Lily now felt tears rolling down her cheeks.  
'I'm... I'm like him?'  
'Positive. Downright copy, only smarter.'  
'Now, now you're exaggerating, mom,' Lily said. Andrea laughed. 'But you never talk about him. I thought you were gonna be sad when I told you.' Lily looked at Louise, and saw she was crying as well. Leon was looking serious. Andrea sighed.  
'Yes. I am sad. And I'm terrified. Losing you, or your sister, would kill me, definitely. But, I've seen this before, Lily. You want this. You need this. It's in your nature to go. If you don't go out of fear, or respect, or whatever other reason, you're gonna lose your_self_. And that would kill me three times in a row.' Louise was looking at her mother, a thoughtful look on her face, listening. 'I'd rather lose you out there, knowing you did what you loved, and listened to your heart, then lose you in _there_.' She poked Lily's forehead.  
Lily'd stopped crying. So had Louise. They looked at each other.  
'I never thought about it that way,' Louise said. 'It... It kinda makes sense. I mean, you'd still leave us, and I hate the thought of it, but if you didn't go... well, you wouldn't really be _you_, anymore, would you?'  
Lily thought about it. What they said made a little sense. But how could she leave her family, to go on a stupid journey? That's rather selfish of her, isn't it?  
'No. No I wouldn't be.' She looked at her mother.  
'Was it like this when you convinced Dad to go?' she asked her.  
'Oh, hunny,' her mother said sighing. She stood up and hugged her daughter. 'This is a million times harder.'


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

Louise stayed for dinner that evening. Everyone avoided the subject for the entire meal, but instead shared extra jolly stories, and laughed a lot. It had been a long time since family-time had been like this. After dinner Andrea and Leon offered to do the dishes, so Lily and Louise went to sit in the living room. It was quiet for a while. Then Louise scraped her throat, and said:  
'So... What are you gonna do?' Lily shrugged.  
'I don't know yet. I mean, I promised you I would stay. But after that conversation we just had... I don't know.'  
'Alright, you need to know that that promise you made me, it doesn't count. I was upset. I made you upset. That's no promise I can make you hold. And I don't want to, either. I meant what I said earlier. It's selfish of me to make you stay, just because I'm afraid of something. Mom was right. It's better to let you go as you are.'  
'That sounds like you think I'm dead already.' Louise looked surprised.  
'You're right, it does. I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that,' she said.  
'I know,' Lily sighed. 'I just don't want to leave, I guess. Well, I do, but I don't. I don't know. It's a weird idea. I wish I could take you with me. Can't you come with me?' Louise smiled.  
'No, sweetie, that's your thing.' It was silent for a while, both sisters deep in thought.  
'You know what?' Louise said. 'You could take a trial-trip. Like, you could go for two weeks, come back and think about what you want.' Lily thought about it.  
'It's a good idea, very sensible,' she said. 'But I don't know if I want sensible.'  
Another silence.  
'Do you even know what to do when you go on the road? I mean, camping skills, and stuff.'  
Lily laughed. 'It's not a game where I can learn skills if I have enough experience points. But yes, I think I do.' Lily shifted her position so she faced Louise. 'You see, it's something I've always been interested in. I mean, it's not like I planned it, but I did a lot of research and practiced skills like knotting, and making a fire.'  
'In the library?' Louise asked, a sparkle in her eye. Lily grinned.  
'I would be murdered if I had.'  
Silence. Lily wanted to reassure her sister, but she didn't know what to say. She knew Louise still feared Lily would be lost on her travels, if she would go.  
Oh, who was she kidding? She'd known all her life she wanted to go. Even though she'd tried to deny it for her family's sake, for Lily it had never been a case of 'if I go', but 'when I go'. It's time she admitted that.

That night, after Louise had gone back to campus, Lily went to her father's study. She knocked, waited for the response, and entered.  
'Lily,' he said with a smile. 'What can I do for you?'  
Lily hesitated. This was a difficult thing to say.  
'I just wanted...' she started. 'I, uh... I just wanted to know your thoughts. On the matter. The matter of me possibly leaving, that is. I don't know. You were so quiet. Before.'  
'And that was deliberately.'  
'I thought so. But I still want to know.' Lily sat down in a comfy chair. Leon looked at her from his seat behind his desk. It looked like he was doubting how much he should say.  
'Well... First of all, I think this should be up to you and you alone. Second, I don't want to influence your decision in any way. I think you are burdened enough with your mother and your sister in the back of your mind.'  
Well, that hadn't cleared up anything for her.  
'If I'd go... what would you do?'  
'I'd say "Good luck", and hope every day for your safe return.'  
'And... And if I stay?'  
'I'd tell you that you are always welcome in my home.' Lily felt the tears again. She was quite prone of crying today, it seemed.  
'I see. That doesn't clear anything up, but thank you.' Lily smiled. It felt good to know he loved her.  
'But...' Leon said suddenly. 'I don't know if it's my place to say this, but... you would make me very proud if you would go. As a father. And I think Anthony would feel the same.'  
Lily started smiling. She walked over to Leon and hugged him.  
'No matter what happens,' she whispered in his ear. 'I want you to know that I truly see you as my father.' She let go, and they smiled at each other. She'd better leave now, before they started crying in front of each other. That wasn't something they did. Leon and Lily shared a lot, but they never cried when they could help it. 'Thank you,' Lily added, and she started walking to the door.  
'Any time, sweetheart.'

The next morning was a Sunday morning.  
'Goodmorning, mom,' Lily greeted her mother. 'Where's dad?'  
'He's in his study. He's been getting a lot of work lately.' Leon was an architect. About five years ago he started his own bureau, and it's been doing pretty well, lately. But that did mean he had to work a lot. Well, that's what you get in life, right? If you want to be successful, you have to work hard for it.  
Andrea put a bowl on the table, with some milk and cereal next to eat. Her message was clear, 'eat!'. And so Lily did. A silence fell at the kitchentable.  
Crunch, crunch.  
The silence went on.  
Crunch, crunch.  
Andrea sat down at the table, with a cup of coffee.  
Crunch, crunch.  
'Lily,' her mother finally said. 'Have you...'  
She didn't need to finish. Have you decided what you will do? Have you decided to leave us? She didn't want to answer, either. But she had to. Because she had decided.  
She had decided to go.  
'Yes, mom. I have,' Lily said.  
'And?' her mother asked with a calm look on her face. Lily was silent for a few moments.  
'I've decided to go.' There. She had said it. It was on the table. No turning back now.  
Her mother smiled. 'Good.'  
It was silent again.  
Crunch, crunch.  
How could she eat at a moment like this?  
Crunch, crunch.  
Lily felt numb. It was like this wasn't real. She just told her mother she was gonna leave, to go on an adventure, and there she was, eating her breakfast, and there her mother was, drinking her coffee, like the only she said was that she was going to be late for dinner.  
Crunch, crunch.  
The last bits of cereal disappeared, and Lily stood up.  
'I, uh... I have to... quit my job at the library, I guess.' Andrea nodded.  
'Yes, that seems like a good idea. You should do it tomorrow.' Another minute of silence. 'Have you decided when you will go?'  
'I was thinking of next Monday. Invite Louise over this weekend. Have another weekend like it used to be. When she still lived at home.' Andrea nodded again.  
'Yes, another good idea.' Then she laughed. 'One more weekend, and then both of my girls are all grown up and out of the house. That will be weird the first couple of weeks.' Lily smiled with her. Yes it would.

The next couple of days were gone in a blur. Lily told her boss she was going to leave next Monday, and that Thursday they threw her a surprise-goodbye-party. Lily was delighted. The library had been her friend, as well as the people that worked there, and she'll miss them. As a parting gift they gave her a couple of her favourite books in pocket edition. The owner of the library, Mr Sandos, an older, kindfaced man with grey hair, glasses and a fluffy white beard, took her apart for a minute and said:  
'We're gonna miss you in this family, Lily. You were a great employee, and know that if you decide to come back, there will always be a place for you in this heap of dusty books.' Lily smiled at him.  
'Thank you, Mr. Sandos, it would be my delight to come back here. This heap of dusty books is my home, after all.'  
'And don't you forgot it!' Tracy, a co-worker and very good friend of Lily's interrupted. 'You can always come home!'  
She even said goodbye to Jacob, the 'stalkerdude' as Louise had called him, on Wednesday. Lily thought it was time to say hello to him, for she knew he would never do it on his own. So when he walked in that Wednesday morning she let him take a seat, and waited for about fifteen minutes before she walked up to him.  
'Hello, Jacob,' she whispered with a smile. This was a library after all, things had to be quiet. 'How are you today? Found any good books?' She looked at what he was reading. It was an atlas, open on maps with indications of altitudes.  
'Uh... Hello,' he whispered back. 'Uhm, yeah, I found this...' He waved vaguely at the atlas. 'You?' Lily smiled at him, and sat down at the table where he was sitting.  
'In fact, I was putting back all my books, and finishing up my work. Tomorrow is my last day of work here.' He stared at her. 'I'm leaving Strutville next Monday.' He was still staring. Then he nodded.  
'What are you gonna do when you leave?'  
'I'm going to travel. See the world. Everything that I want, really.'  
'You're going on a journey.' She nodded. He looked down at his book. 'Well. I guess I'll wish you good luck, then.'  
'Thank you, Jacob. I hope I'll see you again someday,' Lily said, as she stood. She meant it.  
'So do I,' he said, and he gave her a smile in return for hers. As she turned around, he suddenly said:  
'Lily. Uhm... Thank you. For telling me. I think you have always known why I come here. Thank you for telling me now.' She looked back at him and smiled.  
'You're welcome, Jacob. Goodbye.'

That Friday evening Louise arrived. Lily had already told her about her plans over the phone, so she didn't have to do that anymore. Louise had brought a lot of candy, torch lights and a sleeping bag.  
'Let's sleep in the backyard,' Louise said. Lily grinned. They had done that when Louise left the house as well. It was something they had done when they were younger, they'd put up a tent, and then they'd imagine they were travellers, or princesses, or even Indiana Jones. It was one of the very pleasant memories of their childhood.  
They put up the tent, hung a few torch lights on the ceiling-pole, and made their beds.  
'Are you gonna bring this tent with you on your journey?' Louise asked. Lily thought about it. It would be cheaper than buying a new one, but -  
'No, I think I'm gonna buy one you only have to throw and it's done, you know what I mean?'  
'One of those things you have to fold up?'  
'Yeah.'  
'Well, you're gonna have to be quick if you're gonna leave on Monday. Do you have everything you need already, besides the tent?'  
'Yeah, I think so. But I think I'll have to go over the list a couple of times before I go.'  
'I'll help you!' Louise said.  
The rest of the weekend they laughed, went over lists, laughed a little more, told stories, and enjoyed each other's company. Lily bought the tent, a green and red one, that fit her and maybe a second person if they lay really close together. Plus it wasn't too expensive, so that fit Lily's needs. She bought canned food, a lot of camping equipment, clothes and everything else she needed if she didn't have it already. Sunday evening she was packed and ready to go.  
'You're leaving tomorrow morning. I still can't really believe it,' her mother said, as she pulled Lily in for a hug.  
'I know. I can't really believe it either. I don't even know where I'm going yet!'  
'May I make a suggestion?' Lily nodded. 'Go west. Follow the path, and after about a day's walk there is a junction. Choose either of these roads. They all lead to towns and cities that have plenty of adventure.' Lily said she'd think about it.  
That last night Andrea and Leon visited the sisters in the tent. They laughed a little more, some even cried, and at last went to sleep.  
Lily dreamed that she was walking down a road with no end, and she was being attacked by all kinds of animals. She was alone, had seen no one, and it was getting darker and darker. Suddenly the road broke, and she fell down, and she kept falling and falling, until she woke up. The next morning she couldn't remember the dream, only the uneasy feeling stayed with her.  
She said goodbye to her family, promised to write, call and visit whenever she could, and finally walked out the door. Her family was waving at her from the door. She waved back, trying to hold back her tears. She wasn't gonna cry. Not again. She was waving at her family, when someone suddenly shouted her name.  
'Lily!' Surprised, she turned around to where the voice had come from. It was Jacob. What the heck?  
'Jacob!' she shouted back. 'What is it?' He was running towards her, and as he came closer she noticed he was wearing a backpack like hers. Was he going somewhere? And then a thought hit her.  
'Let me come with you!' he said. Yep, she was right. Lily stared at him. Was he serious about this? But he had never looked so serious, except when was reading in his geography books. Lily looked towards her family, her parents were looking amused, and Louise had a grin upon her face. "Say yes!" she motioned.  
'Why?' Lily asked instead.  
'When we were talking last week, I realized I didn't want to stay here. I had wanted to leave for a long time, but I was too lazy, or scared, I don't know, to actually do it. And then you said you were going, and... it seemed perfect. I have read everything I could possibly find on camping, maps, survival skills. And I now know why. I want to do those things. This is perfect. So let me come with you. I won't be a burden, and it'll be good to have company, for the both of us. I'm leaving anyway, but I just thought it would be nice to leave together.' Lily thought about it. It was a very good idea. And it would come in handy to have someone she knew, even though vaguely, travelling with her. If anything happened, they at least knew each other's families.  
'Alright,' Lily said. 'I'm heading west, is that alright with you?' He grinned, and then nodded.  
'Let's go!' he said.  
At the corner of the road, she waved for the last time at her family, and started walking west.


End file.
